The accelerated adoption of artificial intelligence across an increasing number of sectors during the coronavirus crisis means it will soon become a general purpose technology. But critical improvements that it may bring, including for sustainability, will not come solely from AI but from the understanding of, and engagement with, how the technology interfaces with the existing economic, environmental, social and political world, write Marjorie Buchser and Matthew Oxenford.

While AI applications to decarbonize heavy industries are promising, a focus on process optimization over its more radical use could limit its potential. However, establishing knowledge bases and policy frameworks to foster innovation could speed up the application of AI to disrupt business-as-usual operations and deliver decarbonization.

Built environments have the potential to transform from primarily 'users' of natural resources to 'providers' of societal value, which in turn can create infrastructure that is in harmony with people and nature. But to reach this goal stakeholders must be aligned behind this ambition.

Although there is a long way to go before the true implications of the COVID-19 pandemic are known, the crisis does offer a rare opportunity for reflection on how to inform a better response to the other defining emergency of our times — climate change. 

Agricultural subsidies have a large part in shaping production and consumption patterns, with potentially significant effects on food security, nutrition, climate change and biodiversity. Our latest report maps the policy landscape and political economy of subsidies and outlines potential opportunities for reform and intervention. 

To focus political energy, governments and stakeholders from both the environment and trade communities should seize the ongoing discussions on WTO reform to integrate a stronger environmental dimension into the organization’s future, establishing an agenda for Environment and Trade 2.0, argues Carolyn Deere Birkbeck. 

How can financial flows be directed to natural climate solutions, in particular, forests? This workshop brought together scientists, NGOs and private and public investors to explore barriers and opportunities to increasing private capital investments into forests – one of the most promising natural climate solutions available.

The next 14 months are critical in the fight against climate change. Ahead of the 26th Conference of the Parties in Glasgow in 2020, this article proposes a roadmap for a successful UK presidency that will deliver greenhouse gas reduction commitments at the level needed to avoid dangerous levels of climate change.

80% of the world’s population is dependent on imports to meet their food and nutritional requirements. Our latest report explores how trade policies can promote healthier and more sustainable food and land use systems.

International value chains have long played a critical role in shaping global food production and consumption patterns. In recent decades however, their scale, nature and geographical scope has evolved significantly. Our article provides an overview of these shifts and a snapshot into 3 key commodities.

Sand is a critical ingredient for many of the materials that we take for granted: concrete, glass and asphalt. Sand and coarse aggregates form the backbone of the modern world and also, through land reclamation, the ground on which we live. A growing global population increasingly living in cities has led to a spiralling rise in the extraction of sand and aggregates, with serious environmental, political and social consequences.

Is the electric business doomed? That may seem a foolish question when every analysis indicates that global electricity use will continue to increase rapidly in the coming decades. But that depends on what you mean by 'electric business'. Electricity was not originally a business. It might, once again, no longer be.

Transitioning towards healthy diets from sustainable production could provide relief from some of the most pressing environmental and public health challenges Indonesia faces. This paper outlines some of the steps that could help deliver this transformation in Indonesia.  

Supply-side reductions in emissions have dominated thinking to date. An area that has received less attention is that of demand-side, lifestyle, and behavior changes to reduce emissions.

Treating 'run-of-the-river' hydro, wind and solar electricity as consumable commodities is fundamentally inconsistent, and has important implications for policy and investment, argues Walt Patterson.  

As renewables become a large share of the global energy mix, greater electricity system flexibility will be critical and will originate from the small scale, write Daniel Quiggin and Antony Froggatt.

The world is undergoing a dramatic electricity transition, and the global struggle for power over this transformed electric system is set to profoundly shape our future, argues Walt Patterson.

The food system is locked in a vicious circle of increasing production, environmental degradation and rising public health costs. Yields have plateaued but demand is rising while diet is becoming progressively more unhealthy and unsustainable. Rob Bailey and Bernice Lee call on the need for a clear alternative vision to break this vicious circle.

Sustainable and healthy diets could bring widespread environmental and public health benefits. Laura Wellesley outlines the strategies and interventions required to sustainably meet the nutritional needs of a growing global population.

Agriculture must be radically transformed for environmental, food and nutrition security to be reconciled. Richard King outlines some of the existing and emerging opportunities to shift production towards more sustainable and equitable outcomes. 

Natural infrastructure restoration and management can be a physically effective and cost-efficient way to enhance food production and deliver climate and nutrition security. Ana Yang outlines three imperatives necessary for achieving this.

The workshop explored the role of negative emissions, particularly bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), in achieving the UNFCCC Paris Agreement goals. Significant deployment of BECCS is common to most Paris-compliant emissions reduction pathways, but raises important questions for policymakers.

At this workshop leading experts discussed what action across government, business and civil society can steer us towards healthy and sustainable diets. Spanning technologies, policies and actors, an action agenda that can unlock ambition, increase resources and continue innovation to take steps towards a healthy and sustainable diet was identified.

The workshop explored knowledge gaps and priorities to accelerate investment and action on soil organic carbon storage and sequestration. Decision-makers from multiple sectors, with global representation, identified constraints and solutions for scaling up investment in soil organic carbon in the context of climate-change mitigation.

The dialogue explored tools to shift societal preferences and support more sustainable consumption behaviours. It analysed lessons from experiences of ‘nudging’ and other efforts in policy areas such as food, energy, buildings and infrastructure, and identified promising opportunities where interventions that target demand-side shifts could deliver more sustainable outcomes. Participants were from industry, government, international organizations, NGOs, academia, foundations and think tanks.

High quality recycling of industrial materials is a key strategy for delivering a low carbon circular future, argues John Gardner.

The demise of internal combustion vehicles is in sight with electric vehicles poised to replace them. But the cost and scarcity of critical metals could prove a major hurdle, writes Daniel Quiggin.

Land Economy for Sustainability Dialogue Series This first dialogue took place in early 2017. It explored key elements for a scalable strategy for reducing land-based emissions, drawing on lessons learnt from the past decade on the strategic transformation of the energy sector. It also discussed some of the critical ‘no regret’ interventions that could be scaled up immediately, and identified levers needed to create the preconditions for disruptive change beyond 2030.

Hailed as a major disruptor to today’s livestock industry, companies producing innovative meat analogues are blurring the line between disruption and business-as-usual, writes Laura Wellesley.

Technology and new business models make it possible to do much more with much less. But Bernice Lee asks, will governments and companies seize the opportunity?

Feeding future generations and avoiding dangerous climate change will require new technologies that decouple food production from land, as well as new business models that profit from disrupting consumption trends, writes Rob Bailey.

As the world’s population becomes more affluent (and numerous) our collective levels of consumption rise, putting ever greater pressures on land and making planning and managing its use increasingly complex. Professor Tim Benton walks us through the land-based interconnections between resources, and the challenges we face in ensuring the multiple uses of land are compatible with a sustainable future.

Resource saturation levels for China indicate that appetite for materials is likely to flatten after physical infrastructures and basic industries have been set up, argues Raimund Bleischwitz.

The land economy provides a range of important services ranging from food to water to energy. But they are all interlinked. Here, Tim Benton explores viable pathways - with the ‘lowest regrets’ - that can transform global land use.

Material efficiency could reduce industrial GHG emissions but has received relatively little attention to date. A 'systems' approach to policy formation is now needed, writes Simone Cooper-Searle.

Reuse and recycling can significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions impact of the materials used in cars, writes Simone Cooper-Searle.